1. ASIAN EPIDEMIC
Over 50 million chickens, ducks and turkeys have been massacred
in 10 countries that are attempting to control an epidemic of
avian influenza (AI) {1} that is spreading "almost uncontrollably" through
Asia {2}. The affected countries are home to over 6.6 billion
birds who are raised for food {3}. AI is an infectious viral
disease that primarily affects birds but can also infect other
species. The circulating strain, H5N1, was first found to also
be lethal to humans during a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong which
sickened 18 and killed 6 {4}, a 30% mortality rate. The present
strain is believed to be more virulent, having a human mortality
rate of 60-70% {5}. To date, 19 people have died: 14 in Viet
Nam and 5 in Thailand {6}. Other countries reporting the deadly
strain are Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand
and Viet Nam. China and Pakistan have reported less virulent
strains. Mass bird kills are ongoing in China (including Taiwan),
Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan and Viet Nam {7}.

2. THE CAUSE
It is suspected that H5N1 was initially disseminated through a
faulty mass poultry vaccination by Chinese farmers anxious to ward
off Hong Kong's 1997 epidemic {8}, which ended with the killing
of the territory's 1.5 million poultry population {5}. (Last year,
an AI epidemic in the Netherlands resulted in one human death and
the massacre of 30.7 million birds, with a cost to the government
of $344 million {9}.) The AI virus is shed both orally and in feces,
and infects both domestic and wild birds, all of which aid in its
spread {8}. The spread and severity of the current outbreaks are
unprecedented {10}. Some experts blame migratory birds for the
virus's spread but others say there is no evidence that is true
{8, 11}. (Migratory waterfowl are more resistant to infection while
chickens and turkeys are more susceptible to epidemics {12}.)

The pattern of spread indicates the virus has been carried by people
smuggling poultry and other birds, reportedly a widespread practice
in south-east Asia {8, 11}. There is a vast Asian trade in wild
birds for the pet industry. "The birds are caged in stressful,
unnatural and often unhygienic conditions during transport and
in the markets themselves where they are forced to stand beak to
beak with both wild and domestic birds, and handled by humans -
all providing the ideal conditions for transmission of disease," said
William Karesh, a veterinarian with the Wildlife Conservation Society.
The organization notes that the closure of wild bird markets would
reduce spread of the disease. The European Union has banned the
import of wild birds from afflicted nations {13}.

3. COVER-UP
Chinese officials said the disease was first detected there in
late January but it is suspected that the epidemic erupted in China
as long as a year ago and was able to become a raging epidemic
as a result of official cover-up and dubious agricultural practices
{8}. Large numbers of chickens were dying as long ago as July in
Viet Nam, then Thailand and Indonesia, but the governments denied
AI was the cause {10}. Laos is also accused of a cover up {14}.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has accused China of withholding
vital details {15}, and joined a leading public health expert in
expressing doubt that China hasn't had any human cases {16, 17}.
China recently ordered the isolation of 1,418 people, mostly farmers
{18}. (It is disturbingly similar to China's disaster with SARS
(severe acute respiratory syndrome), which was also initially kept
quiet and ended up infecting [over] 8,000 people in 30 countries
and cost the region $60 billion {18}. Countless nonhuman animals
were killed in an attempt to control the disease.)

4. KILLING METHODS
The WHO called for the massacre of all birds exposed to the disease
{19}. There are no international regulations governing how to kill
birds for disease control {20}, and the methods being used to kill
them include burning, drowning, gassing and live burial {19}. "As
soon as 500 died, we had to bury the other 20,000 alive," stated
a Thai farmer {21}. In Bali, thousands of live hens were set on
fire (graphic photo: http://tinyurl.com/3ghjt ) {22}, some of whom
were also kicked and beaten {23}, with a total of 228, 000 burned
{6}. [It's not clear if all of them were alive when burned.] The
most common killing method has been to stuff live birds into plastic
bags and bury them in mass graves (see photo: http://tinyurl.com/2g7n4
). Animal protection activists in Thailand have protested that
this is in violation of both animal protection and disease control
laws {19, 20}. Had the government revealed the outbreak earlier
the killing could have been done less inhumanely, they note. In
some cases, chickens have their necks wrung or are bashed to death
with a stick prior to being buried. Workers have said they are
traumatized by having to kill so many chickens, particularly as
they often did so over the emotional protests of farmers. "I
pray for the chickens every night. But when I wake up the next
morning, I have to do the same job again. It's no different from
being an executioner," one of them told a reporter {24}.

A Taiwanese official said a tranquilizer is put in the water supply
and "some [birds] go to sleep while others just die" before
they are put in bags and buried or burned {19}. In an AI outbreak
in the Netherlands last year, birds were gassed to death with cyanide
{20}. Disease contingency plans for European Union countries include
the use of mobile gassing trucks {16}, while Australia recommends
neck breaking {20}.

Wild birds are also being poisoned and shot in large numbers by
government order and by individuals who fear the birds are spreading
the disease {11, 25}. Experts warn that some migratory species
are rare and their extinction could have ecological consequences
{11, 13, 16, 26}.

5. HAZARDOUS TO HUMANS
WHO has warned that hazardous killing methods are increasing the
risk of viral transmission to humans {27}. Some workers are not
wearing gloves or masks, and soldiers ordered to kill the birds
molded their protective shower caps to look like berets {20}. In
Viet Nam, infected birds are reportedly being buried without bags
or any other barrier to prevent contamination and pollution of
the environment {19}. Of particular concern is the chance that
a person becomes simultaneously infected with both human flu virus
and avian flu virus, enabling the viruses to exchange genes and
create a hybrid for which there is no immunity {28}. So far, people
have caught the disease through contact with infected birds or
contaminated bird droppings {14}, though human-to-human transmission
may be possible {29}. If the virus mutates into a form that can
be transmitted between people, as was the case with SARS {30},
it could kill millions {6}.

Pigs are susceptible to viruses that infect humans and those that
infect birds, and it is feared that they could serve to combine
the viruses {12}. (It's unknown whether pigs can contract this
virus. In China, 800 live pigs smuggled from Viet Nam were set
on fire {31}. [In South Korea, piglets were buried alive.]) Alternatively,
the quickly mutating H5N1 could also become efficient at spreading
among people {32}. The virus has proven resistant to all but the
more expensive prophylactic anti-viral drugs, and they may be in
short supply {33}. The WHO said countries should begin to consider
stockpiling them {27}. A human vaccine would take at least half
a year to develop, test and mass produce {33}.

6. LIVE MARKETS, COCKFIGHTING & COMPENSATION
It was determined that the human cases during the 1997 Hong Kong
outbreak were all caused by close contact with live poultry. In
Hong Kong, "Chinese people loved to go to the markets to choose
live chickens and have them killed"{34}. The disease was spread
by transporting the birds and moving equipment between farms and
markets {35}. The WHO says live bird markets have played an important
role in spreading the disease {12 (see also item #5: http://tinyurl.com/2nvee
)} and it therefore advises that such marketing be discouraged
in areas experiencing H5N1 outbreaks {4}. Manjit Bhatia, a political
analyst specializing in Asian affairs writes: "Asia has the
world's most disgusting social organisation and management of its
live-animal and bird markets. There is wanton abuse of animal rights
and the general environmental conditions at these markets are persistently
filthy. All hygiene aspects are seriously questionable. Health
practices are poorly regulated. Where regulations exist, corrupt
officials often ignore them. On any given day, these markets -
and the farms where live birds are bred and where agricultural
practices are equally foul - possess all the natural conditions
for incubating and delivering deadly diseases" {36}. (See
also "Trade Bans; U.S. Outbreaks" below.)

Cockfighting has also been implicated in the disease's spread because
of the long distances the birds are transported {11 (see also item
#6: http://tinyurl.com/2nvee )}, and Thailand has temporarily banned
it {37}. People with these birds are resisting killing them because
they say the compensation they would receive is inadequate {38}.
The government is offering farmers 25% of the market value of birds
killed to control the disease {39}. The mass extermination is economically
devastating the countries involved {16}, with chicken farming said
to be the only means of earning a living in some areas {21}. International
agencies are calling for wealthy nations to aid in compensating
farmers {28} who may otherwise resist exterminating flocks {40}.

7. PROBLEMATIC PRODUCTION
Many farmers in Asia live closely with chickens. Noting that this
raises their risk of being infected with AI , a regional WHO spokesperson
commented: "They have to completely change their lifestyle
and attitude toward animal[s]." He pointed out that AI can
be more easily controlled when farms are concentrated, as in Japan
and South Korea, rather than spaced out, as they are in Thailand
and Viet Nam {34}. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) has also called for "a fundamental change in attitudes," insisting
that traditional farming practices be modernized, with chickens "cooped
up and fenced in" {37}.
(Singapore has banned small-scale chicken farming in a major rural
community, ordering that remaining birds be caged to prevent contact
with wild birds {30}. Free range poultry farmers in Australia have
been instructed to move birds indoors or provide them with roofed
enclosures to avoid contact with migratory birds {29}.) However,
Hans-Gerhard Wagner, a WHO animal production and health officer,
points out that intensive industrial farming promotes emerging
diseases. Crowded and unsanitary conditions common to commercial
farming can transform domestic fowl into "veritable flu-making
factories" {41}. David Byrne, the European commissioner for
health and consumer protection, said that the greater difficulty
in preventing disease in outdoor flocks compared to large commercial
units may accelerate trends toward industrializing operations in
affected countries, with associated negative social and environmental
consequences {3}.

During the 1990's, China tripled its poultry production{41}, last
year producing 8 billion chickens, mostly on small, cramped farms
{30}. In Thailand, large complexes have been created specifically
to produce poultry for export {39}. Asia, home to nearly a third
of the human population {38}, has about 40% of the world's poultry
{3}. Asian demand for meat is expected to double by 2020. Intensive
farming, with concentrations of animals living in close proximity
to humans, has boosted the incidence of animal diseases affecting
humans. "As soon as you have this constellation - high density
of animals and close association with humans - you are quite likely
to get some increased transmission, if not even generation, of
new disease agents," Samuel Jutzi, the director of FAO's animal
production and health division, said recently. "The frequency
of outbreaks...has certainly increased due to the increased concentration
of animals, and at the same time the impact is massively higher," he
said {42}.

8. CRITICAL COMMENTARIES
Theresa Manavalan, a prominent Malaysian journalist, comments: "But
make no mistake, the pig is not the villain, neither is the chicken.
It's actually us. And our horrible farm practices, outdated agricultural
policy and, most of all, reckless disregard of our ecology and
environment." Denouncing the crowded and dirty conditions
in which farmed animals are obstinately kept, Manavalan points
out that, of the 35 emerging human diseases in the last 20 years,
more than 70% have involved other animals. "What we may have
done," she warns, "is unwittingly create the perfect
launch pad for an influenza pandemic that will likely kill large
numbers of people across the globe {43}." In a Newsday opinion
piece, animal-rights advocates Peter Singer and Karen Dawn contend
that slaughtering animals for emergency disease control is more
justifiable than slaughtering them for food {44}.

9. TRADE BANS; U.S. OUTBREAKS
In addition to the extermination of live animals, tons of chicken
meat have been destroyed {45} and millions of slaughtered chicken
and eggs are stuck in storage due to trade bans other countries
have put in place since the disease was announced {15}. It may
be years before the bans are lifted {39}. Asia accounted for 25%
of world trade in poultry {3}.

In the U.S., an outbreak of AI in Delaware this month has led to
the killing of 12,000 chickens. The virus is said to be a less
virulent strain but tests to confirm that could take weeks. Russia,
the top buyer of U.S. poultry, and several other countries, including
some with H5N1, have banned U.S. exports. The U.S. exports about
15% of its chicken production, worth about $2 billion per year.
Delaware produces about 4% of U.S. production {46}. The Delaware
operation sold birds at New York City live markets, which is where
the disease is thought to have been contracted {47, 48 (see also
item#5: http://tinyurl.com/2y4kh )}. The 12,000 chickens were gassed
and their bodies composted {48}. The virus has since been found
in a 2nd Delaware operation with 74,000 birds who have been killed
and buried {49}. "This development is completely unexpected
given the precautions we took, the investigation we made and the
industry's expectations of this disease's behavior," said
the state's Agriculture Secretary {50}. Today it was reported that
4 live chicken markets in New Jersey have tested positive for the
same strain of AI. (N.J. has about 35 such markets, and test results
have been returned for about half of them.) Health officials stressed
that the findings are not unusual for the state's live markets. "They
can be doing everything right and still have a market that tests
positive," the state vet said: http://tinyurl.com/2s4es (see
also: http://www.upc-online.org/livemarkets/ ) In 2002, a mild
strain of AI in Virginia prompted officials to order the killing
of 4.7 million birds {51}.

10. VACCINATING INSTEAD OF KILLING
The WHO has said it could take up to 2 years to bring the outbreak
under full control {50}. Vaccinating chickens in the region would
not eliminate the virus since birds who appear healthy but are
already infected would continue to spread it {33}. At an emergency
international meeting, the FAO & WHO reluctantly agreed that
vaccinating rather than killing uninfected birds in the proximity
of affected areas would be acceptable. This concession was made
due to concerns over the economic impacts of wholesale slaughter
{52}. "If you do nothing, they die," cautioned an FAO
official, "But if you vaccinate and it's not well done, they
live and keep the virus and still spread it" {53}. Since then,
the WHO has criticized some countries for putting economic interests
above human health concerns by resorting to vaccinating instead
of killing birds in infected areas {54}.

11. PUBLIC RELATIONS
In an attempt to overcome the public's qualms toward poultry meat,
leading Chinese officials have made a point of eating it with great
publicity. Among them is the executive vice minister of health,
a (former) vegetarian who ate chicken last week for the first time
in 30 years. China's main propaganda outlet acknowledged that the
meals suggest an official shift "from traditional propaganda
to Western-style political communications skills to handle crises." Henry
Niman, a Harvard University Medical School instructor, remarked, "The
virus doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to what the officials
are doing. I don't know that the public does, either"{55}.

In Thailand, KFC gave away 50,000 pieces of chicken "to save
the country's chicken business as a whole" {56}. The government
sponsored a free public feast to encourage people to eat more chicken
and help the industry. The government also held a Buddhist ceremony
to bless the spirits of the 26 million chickens slaughtered en
masse there. "We feel guilty because we are Buddhist," said
one official who explained that the ceremony "can make us
feel relaxed and apologize to the souls of the dead chickens." Afterward,
the 108 monks who chanted blessings were presented with a meal
of fried chicken and chicken curry {57}.